


The curse of a Carrier (Or, how Sasuke regained his sanity)

by Mullk6



Series: What if? [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Basilisk+phoenix Harry, Canon Divergence - Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Creature Harry, Creature Harry Potter, Dimension Travel, F/M, Fix-It of Sorts, Good Uchiha Sasuke, Harry Potter Leaves the Wizarding World, Harry can't catch a break, How original, M/M, Mentions of Rape, Mpreg, at least without the seal, but he could be, he's not pregnant yet, until he does, which is the reason Harry left, which is why he left
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-06-21 05:24:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15550575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mullk6/pseuds/Mullk6
Summary: After discovering his status as a Carrier, Harry knew he had to leave. With the help of his friends and family, he went to a place where the Wizarding World could never get him, another dimension.It's just his luck that he ends up in trouble when he gets there.After killing Orochimaru, Sasuke has had trouble concentrating. His memories are foggy and his emotions feel foreign. The seal also keeps causing him problems.Luckily, he stumbled upon some Iwa-nin and their prisoner.Quick warning, I started writing this two years ago. Let's just say the first few chapters aren't as good of a quality as I'd like them to be.





	1. The meeting (and the cure)

For the hundredth time since he'd discovered his carrier status, Harry James Potter cursed his luck. At first, he'd been shocked and thrilled... until someone leaked the information out to the press, then the Ministry issued a badly disguised arrest order so that he could, essentially, be used for pureblood breeding.

Well, no one loyal to him had taken that lying down and thus the scheming had begun.  
In the midst of rape attempts, kidnapping attempts and hiding from the Aurors and Hit-Wizards, Harry and his family in all but blood came up with a solution so strange even they couldn't believe it would work.

They did a ritual which would send Harry to another world, far out of reach of the Ministry. They all agreed that though they would all be sad to see him go, Harry especially, this was the best option unless Harry wanted to be in a constant state of pregnancy... just no.

As such, Harry packed half his fortune, his important items and the entire combined library of all his inheritances. Of course, he'd copied it all and let Hermione have said copies, trusting her to keep them safe and use them well.

This was how he'd arrived in the Elemental Countries. He found the world fascinating and was quite surprised to learn about Shinobi, chakra and most importantly, Bloodline Limits. The perfect excuse for his carrier status, should it be discovered.

Unfortunately, it had. By the _wrong_ sort of people.

Well, he guessed it could be worse... they could have been after him because of the partial creature inheritance caused by the mix of Basilisk venom and Phoenix tears coursing through his veins. He was able to produce venom in his saliva and blood and his tears could heal, exactly like a phoenix. He still couldn't sing, so that was a bummer.

More to the point, Harry was running through the woods, evading some shinobi that wanted to use him for breeding, probably for the sake of Bloodline Limits. Well, even if they caught him they'd have trouble getting him pregnant. It was a pretty nifty defense mechanism, though it only worked as long as he was awake and coherent, if they drugged him... then it would be a different story, that was, after all, what the Ministry had been planning on doing. Unfortunately, these shinobi didn't know this and if they caught him, Harry would be raped over and over again until they demanded answers and, by then, he might just spill everything about carriers. At least he'd be able to spite them until that happened.

In other words, it would be hell. He would not be allowed to raise his children, they would be taken away from him, he'd slowly die inside until his body stopped functioning due to the breaking of the bond between child and carrier. It was what had happened to most carriers throughout history, he knew, he'd read up on Magical Britain's history. Everyone, at least in the older generation, knew it, but no one talked about it.

Just as Harry entered a clearing, something wound around his legs, causing him to fall to the ground and roll due to his momentum and come to an abrupt halt from whatever was at the other end of the wire around his legs. Before Harry could as much as get his arms under him, one of the ninja was on top of him, securing his hands together and hauling him up and against a tree, where the raven-haired wizard was left to hang as the shinobi stabbed a kunai into the tree, which the wire around his wrists was tied to. Seeing no other option, Harry started producing venom in his mouth before spitting it at the shinobi's face.

Which was how he earned a blow to the stomach and a gag to prevent a repeat of the incident. Unfortunately, he'd only hit the man's hair, but they'd realized the danger from the way his saliva had melted said hair, leaving behind only the burnt smell. They soon added a blindfold when they noticed his pupils morphing to resemble a snake's. Quite unfortunate on Harry's part, since he would have been able to kill them with a mere look into their eyes. He was completely at their mercy now. It took all he had not to start crying in despair.

The day had already turned to night, but Sasuke didn't feel like stopping. After he'd killed Orochimaru he hadn't really known what to do. It was as if a driving force behind his actions up until then had vanished and he wasn't sure why. Thoughts like this were getting more and more frequent and they were always followed by-

Sasuke stopped as his curse mark started causing him pain again. He gritted his teeth and placed his right hand over it, bearing the pain silently, leaning against the tree he'd stopped in. This was the only reason he noticed the camp. Iwa-nin, three of them, over the age of thirty at the very least. The pain having passed, Sasuke crouched, wondering why shinobi of Iwa had set up camp there, somewhat close to the Fire Country border. That's when he saw the captive. A black-haired teen around Sasuke's age, feminine but undoubtedly male, hands and feet tied by ninja-wire, hanging from a kunai stabbed into a tree, gagged and blindfolded, captured after trying to escape through the woods if the torn clothing and leaves in his hair were anything to go by. Civilian, most likely, since he hadn't escaped yet. Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he heard what the Iwa-nin were talking about.

“Lucky we got 'im before he could get to Konoha, imagine if _they'd_ gotten the little goldmine.”

“Agreed, his Bloodline will be _very_ useful.”

Not a normal civilian, then. Sasuke contemplated what he should do. He might be a missing nin, but he was still of Konohagakure and some things stuck throughout life, no matter what. Distrust of Iwa and anything to do with it, that came from growing up in Konoha. Then again, _no one_ really liked Iwa.

One of the Iwa-nin approached the captured civilian, his comrades already asleep, having given him the duty of first watch. Sasuke wasn't sure what the man was doing until he touched the tied up teen. The teen jerked away from the touch, but the shinobi grabbed his hair and forcefully tilted his head to the side and bent his own head down to sniff his captive's neck.

“I wonder, should I sample you for myself before handing you over...”

It became disgustingly clear what the man intended when his other hand traveled down the raven-haired teen's body. The civilian had also realized this and started to struggle, causing the wire to cut into his wrists and draw blood. The Iwa-nin only chuckled maliciously at the reaction as his other hand traveled lower...

Sasuke would later realize that he couldn't actually remember killing any of them, only that suddenly there were three dead Iwa-nin in the clearing and his hand was splattered with blood. After belatedly wiping it off, Sasuke approached the now shaking civilian, making sure to make noise as he did. The civilian flinched at his touch, but Sasuke ignored it and instead focused on untying the blindfold.

“Relax, I'm trying to help you.”

The teen relaxed slightly even as he shook, probably due to the fact he couldn't recognize Sasuke's voice, which would've told him he wasn't part of the group that had captured him but still made him an unknown. Sasuke was just relieved he didn't have to deal with a hysterical civilian as he finally got the blindfold off. He was then unexpectedly faced with the greenest eyes he had ever seen, which caused him to pause for only a second before he started working on the gag, which also came off without too much difficulty. Next he cut the wire holding the teen's wrists to the kunai, causing the green-eyed beauty (wait, what?) to collapse onto him.

It wasn't that surprising, nor was the fact the civilian fainted with tears still running down his face. What _was_ surprising was the effect of the civilian's tears as they hit his skin. More specifically, the curse mark Orochimaru had given him. There was a burning sensation from the mark, painful in a way that surprisingly didn't make Sasuke think of Orochimaru, unlike all the times the mark would cause him pain. Then, suddenly, his world cleared. For the first time in years, Sasuke could think clearly. It was as if all his negative emotions had been spent and had been reduced to mere embers as opposed to the flames they had been. Sasuke slid the teen into his arms as he sat down in order to untangle the wire around his limbs. While he was doing this, he realized just why the Iwa-nin had called the ravenette a gold mine. If his tears could do more than dissolve Orochimaru's curse mark then he was very valuable. The thought came automatically, Sasuke was a shinobi after all, but he was humane enough to not actually consider doing anything like that himself. He knew he'd have to take the civilian away from where they were. He wondered if he should stick to Fire Country or avoid it. Then again, people would assume he was in Sound, so he could most likely hide in his homeland. Oh, the irony.

Then again, Sasuke wasn't too sure what to do anymore. He was currently staying in an out of the way hotel in some unnamed village in Hi no Kuni, waiting for his charge to wake up. He'd originally joined Orochimaru due to seeking power to be able to kill Itachi, but he didn't feel like chasing after his brother anymore. That and, for some reason, his memories were quite blurred and distorted after he'd received the cursed mark in the Forest of Death. It was quite troubling, as was the fact that the majority of his anger had completely vanished after its removal. It begged the question: how much of his actions were due to his own free, uninfluenced will? Sasuke didn't know.

Perhaps that was what scared him so much.

He'd bandaged the unknown teen's arms where his struggling had caused the ninja wire to draw blood and tucked him in the single bed the room held. There wasn't much else he could do, he wasn't a medic nin, he could only administer the most basic first aid. He should really rectify that, sooner rather than later.

He had no idea why he had saved the civilian, much less why he hadn't just left him at some hospital and ran. Then again, his emotions and actions had gone completely haywire even before the civilian's tears had hit his seal and he wondered whether or not Orochimaru's death had something to do with it. He looked at the civilian and viciously squashed the Naruto-like childish urge to nickname him. 

Speaking of Naruto, Sasuke realized he couldn't remember what Team 7's smiling faces looked like anymore. This was disconcerting, to say the least. All he could see when trying to remember them was Sakura's tear-stained face, Kakashi's stony expression and... Naruto's broken look.

It felt horrible.

Why had he left? He'd _cared_ about them, _hadn't he_? Then _why_?

Sasuke's mind was in turmoil, yet at the same time, he was thinking clearer than ever. Free of any external influences, Sasuke's mind raced to explain things in his life that, in hindsight, made no sense. After that, his mind turned to other things.

Itachi's “reason” for the massacre.

The death count of the massacre.

The hatred the village held for Naruto.

His own dislike for Naruto.

His budding friendship with Naruto.

Drawing parallels between Team 7 and family.

… his betraying of Naruto.

_I was lonely._

_He was lonely._

_It got better._

_I made it worse._

_I'm alone again._

_… it hurts..._

With this internal monologue, it wasn't surprising that Sasuke almost missed the civilian waking up. Almost. The Uchiha was, after all, a trained shinobi. That was why, when the ravenette on the bed shifted and let out a pained noise, Sasuke put his churning thoughts on the back burner and faced the slowly waking teen.


	2. Travel montage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke makes some assumptions and Harry doesn't dispute them... at first.  
> Also known as: the black amnesiac duckie imprints on the first person he sees.

For a moment, Harry wondered where he was. This was a split-second before he noticed the pain he was in. His wrists and forearms burned and stung and he remembered the ninja wire he'd been ensnared in. Next he noticed the pain in his stomach and remembered the punch he'd received there, thankfully, his magic had protected his vital organs, including the carrier pouch in which any offspring would grow. He'd only have a very painful bruise there, thankfully. Only after cataloging these injuries did he notice he was laying on a bed. An actual bed, which meant he wasn't in the woods anymore. He then remembered the voice telling him he, for the voice was definitely male, was trying to help him. He had been saved.

Opening his eyes, Harry surveyed his surroundings. He was indoors, that much was certain, and he wasn't alone. There was a black-haired and eyed teen sitting by the bed, looking at him with an unreadable expression and Harry remembered seeing his face before he blacked out. 

Closing his eyes, Harry smiled briefly “Thank you.”

There was a short silence, before his savior replied “I'm not sure why I did that, my body just moved on its own.”

Harry snorted “Yeah, instinct is a powerful thing, but it's saved my life more than once. Never like this, though.”

There was once again silence “They wanted you for your tears, didn't they?”

Harry tensed and opened his eyes, looking straight at the other. But before the panic could set in, the ninja moved his collar to show the left side of his neck “There was a cursed seal here, but it pretty much vanished when your tears landed on it.”

Harry swallowed and averted his eyes, not sure what would happen now. On one hand, the ninja didn't know the _actual_ reason behind the attack, but on the other hand, he knew of something that could be equally bad for Harry's continued freedom and well-being.

“Thank you.”

The very faint thanks almost went unheard as Harry slowly worked himself into a panic, but the fact that he did hear it calmed him “... I thought I had it under control by now... but sometimes I just cannot hold back my tears. If people found out I could heal... well, I could kiss my freedom goodbye.” Harry swallowed thickly “There's no one left...”

Silence filled the room once again and Harry thought the other had left until he spoke again “The Uchiha clan possessed a very powerful Doujutsu called the Sharingan. Only two are alive today... I guess I'm trying to sympathize, like no one did for me.” the Uchiha paused “It never goes away, does it?”

“No,” Harry answered immediately “but it does get better, if you have someone to fall back on.”  
A brief silence, then: “Uchiha Sasuke, one of the last of the Uchiha.”

Harry turned his head with a smile “Potter Harry, last of the Potters, Blacks and Peverells, among others, nice to meet you.”

It was a strange start, but after they got the basics out of the way, Sasuke and Harry became tentative friends. Sasuke due to being emotionally stunted and unsure whether he deserved friends after his actions and Harry because he still held many secrets from Sasuke. The biggest being his status as carrier. He was slightly afraid that Sasuke would use him to resurrect his clan, but something in him urged him to tell Sasuke the truth. Most of it, anyway. He started gradually, explaining his family tree first.

“The Potters are... were, descended from Ignotus Peverell, the youngest of three brothers, while the eldest, Antioch, was murdered before he could marry and the middle brother Cadmus was believed to be predecessor to the Gaunts, which had merged with the Slytherin line and ended with the Riddle family. Meanwhile, the Potters became related to the Blacks when Dorea Black married Charlus Potter, my father's granduncle.” Harry explained as he wrote on a paper to illustrate his strange ancestry one evening in another village he didn't remember the name of.

“You have a very complex family tree.” Sasuke said as he peered over the shorter teen's shoulder.

They'd been traveling together for weeks and Sasuke had asked about his family. Harry, never to do anything halfway, was now explaining the gist of it.

“Oh, it's actually far more complex then this, but I'm explaining the important parts.”

“Ah.” to Sasuke, this was odd enough, since his family mostly included Uchiha and sometimes civilians, they'd hardly got along with other clans in the village.

“I was bored and there was a family tapestry, ok? Anyway, the Gryffindor family married into the Potter family and died out, but before that Salazar Slytherin's daughter married into the Gryffindor line, which was never broadcasted much since the two families hated each other, making my ancestry very, very strange and frankly quite creepy.” Harry continued, ending with a deadpan tone.

Sasuke couldn't see how it could get that bad “How so?”

“My parents were killed on October 31st by Tom Marvolo Riddle, who was the descendant of...”

“Slytherin and Peverell. I see your point.”

Of course, Harry wasn't giving Sasuke a lineage lesson for the heck of it, he was actually slowly building up to his other secrets and the best way to do that was giving himself the genetic leeway to explain all his talents and assets. He doubted he'd ever tell anyone the entire truth surrounding him, mostly because he wanted nothing to do with the world he'd left. He might miss a very select few people that he'd left behind, but they'd all wanted him safe. It was better to distance himself from them, too. They were as cut off from him as if they had died. Only difference was that they still lived, even though he'd never be able to ever catch a glimpse of even a single hair on their head. In the meantime, he was getting very comfortable with being around Sasuke, who seemed confused about something every time Harry asked something about him. This, Harry knew, was because Sasuke's memories were jumbled and fuzzy due to the cursed seal Harry's tears had gotten rid of. However, Harry was sure it would get better eventually. The mind had a way of healing itself, given time.

At the moment, the two of them had stopped in a small town with little to no visitors. It was one of those places that only had one inn, which at the moment only had two other customers, besides them. It suited Sasuke, since he was as good as a missing-nin and Harry... well, he didn't exactly want to be noticed either. One kidnapping attempt was enough, thank you very much. 

Of course, they knew the peace couldn't last, but they didn't actively think about it.

Sasuke had to travel under henge or wearing a hood if he didn't want people to recognize him. Harry had no such limitations, which often meant people noticed him, prompting Sasuke to “defend his honor” especially when some suicidal idiot decided to try and cop a feel. Let's just say the Uchiha gave them the Evil Eye, quite literally, while almost breaking their wrist. It was inevitable that the rumors would start and end up in all the wrong (and all the right) places. The town they were in had a small festival going on and Harry had really wanted to go, but hadn't wanted to leave Sasuke in their room alone. In all honesty, both of them had money to stay in separate rooms and the inn was very cheap, but neither had brought it up. Sasuke because of the paranoia and need to be close to Harry and Harry because he liked being around Sasuke. He had attached a tracking charm to his companion so he didn't feel the need to be in his presence constantly, he would know where his fellow ravenette was at all times. In the end, Sasuke had accompanied the shorter teen outside, hood firmly in place even when his companion was wearing a green kimono with a big stag embroidered onto it. It made something throb at the back of Sasuke's mind, but he hadn't been able to remember much about his life before. Most of what he knew had faded into the back of his mind since he didn't need the knowledge or memories. He didn't much think about the 12-year-old blond his world had been centered around. He mostly focused on Harry and his own status as a semi-Nukenin.

Harry was smiling brightly as they toured the rather small celebration and laughed when it started pouring, dragging Sasuke with him to take shelter under a tree even as other people found alcoves or just plain went inside to escape the downpour.

“This is not how I remember festivals going.”

Harry glanced at him when he said that and asked “Oh? Then how do you remember them?”  
The coal-eyed teen shrugged “Honestly, I mostly remember just not going.”

The emerald-eyed youth blinked at him “How come?”

Sasuke exhaled through his nose “I was too sad, too tired, too lonely, too angry to go... I remember thinking 'Why bother, they're all gonna pity me anyway...'”

Harry sidled up to him and pressed against his side, offering silent comfort.

He stood there in silence for a moment, before a thought popped up, unbidden “But Naruto never went either.”

Harry looked up, interested. Sasuke rarely remembered things like this and it was better to let him process whatever he remembered than make him stop and lose the train of thought.

“Naruto never went... but Naruto's never been angry... Naruto was too sad and too lonely to go... too _afraid_ to go...” Sasuke muttered, brows furrowed, evidently not knowing _why_ Naruto had been afraid to go.

Harry stood in silence for a moment before letting his arms sneak around Sasuke's bicep, hugging it as he spoke “I was never... I was never allowed to go to any sort of events or celebrations, when I was little.”

Now it was Sasuke's turn to listen, Harry rarely spoke of his life and even then he refused to mention his early childhood and Sasuke knew it had to be bad.

“My mother's sister was a bitter woman and her husband and son were just as unpleasant. In their opinion, 'the Freak' didn't deserve to be happy. This is why they always locked me in my room when they went out or when their son had a birthday party. I wasn't allowed to be happy.”

Sasuke stood silently, not moving to reclaim his arm any time soon.

“It's why...” Harry whispered, stopped, then started again “It's why I wear feminine clothes nowadays... because I _can_ , because they're _mine_ , because I don't need _permission_ , because for once I just want to wear something _nice_ -”

Sasuke grabbed the other by the shoulder and spun him around, meeting wide green eyes as he bent down to kiss their owner. Those same eyes widened even more before fluttering closed, slim hands letting go of his arm, which was great because it had been stretched to a slightly awkward angle, and instead grasped the front of his open shirt under his cloak which Sasuke moved to cover his partner even as one hand dived into messy black locks.

Soon enough they separated for air and Sasuke spoke, entirely serious “You always look nice, there's nothing you could wear that would diminish your beauty in my eyes.”

Harry looked up at him, a slight blush on his cheeks and nodded before burying his face in Sasuke's chest.

The dynamic changed after that. Not much, but enough for it to be obvious to anyone looking that they were _together._ It was a week later when Harry revealed the true reason behind the kidnapping during their initial meeting.

“It... it wasn't my tears they were after.”

Sasuke looked up from the scroll he'd been reading “Hm?”

Harry sat in front of the low table in their room, the candlelight casting shadows across his face as he looked down into his tea “The night we met... I was captured for a different reason than what you assumed... I... I didn't correct you, because I was scared.”

Sasuke rose from his spot on his futon and padded over, sitting beside his partner and slinging an arm around the other's shoulders.

Harry let his head fall onto Sasuke's shoulder as he continued “The Potters were special. Their Kekkei Genkai was one of the most valued... and most abused.” the green-eyed youth inhaled deeply “This ability made the women more fertile and unable to miscarry... and gave the males the ability to carry children.”

Sasuke tensed up, eyes widening once he realized _all_ of the implications behind that statement.

Harry smiled humorlessly “I guess you figured it out. The Potters became sought-after brides... but also victims of kidnapping. Carriers were taken to be forcefully bred, with every child that was taken away from them immediately after birth, the Carriers broke little by little, until they became unresponsive and died... it caused a safety-mechanism to develop over time and soon Carriers could not be impregnated through rape. Pain and fear caused a special chemical to be emitted that stopped the process.” the carrier sighed “Of course, there were ways around that, so instead, the ones who could Carry hid their abilities, until they were assumed extinct... then I was confirmed as a Carrier, and everything went to hell.”

Sasuke's arm tightened around him as he spoke.

“We all knew I needed to leave, before our government took me, drugged me and started selling me to anyone who wanted a child. I can never go back, nor can my friends come after me, not without giving away my position.” Harry breathed deeply “I don't know _how_ those Iwa Shinobi found out about it, but that's what they were going to do to me...” Harry paused, thinking about it “It's possible one of them had some way of noticing the carrier pouch and realized its' use, considering it's very much out of place on a male, since it is very similar to a womb, though the structure is different due to many reasons I am not aware of. It wasn't safe to keep any real record of it.”

Sasuke moved them around so that Harry's face was pressed against his chest, Sasuke's arms wrapping around the lithe frame of his boyfriend “I will protect you.”

Harry smiled and burrowed into the warm embrace, his hands loosely curled into fists and resting against the toned chest of the nukenin “Thank you.” he whispered, glad he didn't have to be strong all the time anymore.

He would fight if he had to, but he didn't _want_ to. It was nice to have the option of protection even if you could protect yourself. That didn't mean he'd automatically leave all the fighting to Sasuke, that wouldn't be fair and Harry refused to be like the sheep in England.


	3. Reunion, the first

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets into trouble and two former teammates reunite.

It was surprising when no one recognized him when he handed the thugs over to the small group of peacekeepers in the village they were going through. Sasuke hadn't even had to fight hard or draw his sword before the five of them were groaning on the ground. Perhaps it was the hood, but really, you'd think he'd be more sought after when you considered exactly whom he had been with the last few years. It was probably the council's doing, what with him being 'the last Uchiha'.

Sasuke snorted as he returned to the inn. They had no plans to stay there for more than one night and that was fine with him. He had no desire to stay near those idiots he'd taken care of the day before. Thankfully he only needed to pick up their packs before they could leave, since he'd left buying rations to Hari.

The real trouble started when he made his way towards the market. It was pure chaos, to put it lightly. He could only catch snippets of words such as 'taken', 'horrible', 'companion' and 'raven'. This put him on edge since he could not sense Hari anywhere in the vicinity.

“Oi, you,” he harshly said to a nearby civilian “What happened?”

The brown haired man looked at him and started explaining “Some bandits started trouble over whoever it was that beat up those five yesterday, then they abducted a nice young man whom they claimed was traveling with the, and I quote: 'red eyed demon'.”

Sasuke cursed before asking where they had went, then took off in that direction.

He had no idea that he was not the only one heading there. A certain blond and his master had also heard of the incident and, on the off chance that the 'red eyed demon' actually was whom they thought it was, followed the bandits.

Naruto was perched in the rafters, hidden from sight. He and Ero-Sennin had heard people talking about someone that might be Sasuke. The only reason they were even investigating the rumors was because according to Jiraiya's sources, the Snake Sannin was dead. Which meant the other might be able to be persuaded to come back to Konoha. When they'd heard that some bandits had apparently kidnapped someone that was traveling with whom they suspected was Sasuke, Naruto had taken off immediately. The only reason they hadn't saved the hostage was so that they could confirm their suspicions. Naruto didn't like it, but he could understand it. However, if the bastard didn't show up soon he _would_ save the hostage, no matter what Ero-Sennin said. Not that he was even _there_ , the old man had went off to set up camp instead of keeping an eye on the bandits. Naruto was starting to wonder whether the old pervert thought it was Sasuke or not.

Then, finally, a window near the ceiling opened and a somewhat familiar figure slunk through, landing in front of the captured teen, who did not react. This could be either due to the fact that he was blindfolded, or that he was unconscious, Naruto wasn't sure.

Sasuke, meanwhile, approached the slighter figure and laid his hands on the other's face, slipping his fingers under the blindfold and sliding it off, revealing closed eyes. The other raven crouched down, working on the gag as he said something that the Jinchuuriki couldn't catch, mostly because at the same time, the doors of the abandoned barn were slid open, revealing the bandits all around. Sasuke tensed and tsked audibly, not surprised but probably berating himself for not being faster. That seemed like something he'd do.

As the so called “Last Uchiha” straightened up, his eyes caught sight of the blond in the rafters, causing him to pause minutely before drawing his sword lightning fast and cutting the rope holding the captive's wrists above their head and to the beam behind them, causing the barely conscious form to slump to the side.

“Get him out of here, dobe!”

Naruto didn't have much time to think as he jumped down in a flash and scooped the smaller raven in his arms as Sasuke attacked the bandits.

“Go! I'll follow you once I'm done!” 

Naruto didn't know what made him listen, but he was sure the tone of voice and the expressions on the bastard's face had something to do with as he jumped back up into the rafters and left the way he'd come, heading towards camp.

At the same time, Sasuke let loose and started killing all the men near him, the people who'd dared touch what was his. Hari had obviously been drugged, so he had to find whoever had done it and find out if it was lethal. He knew Hari would filter it out, what with his immunity to poisons, but an antidote would make the process faster and easier. And that was only if his partner didn't have something to counteract it in his mysterious medicine bag. Sasuke swore he had everything you could ever want in there and he had no idea how the concoctions were made. He just wished they tasted less like unmentionable things.

Shaking his head, he concentrated on the fight, certain that the half-remembered blond would get Hari to safety. The trust he had felt when he'd laid eyes on him could not be false, even though he had no idea where it had come from. A hazy memory of senbon needles flashed before his eyes as he slashed his sword, his body almost moving on its own.

He had to take care of this before he followed.

Naruto ignored his master's indignant sputtering as he laid Sasuke's... friend? On the dirty old man's bedroll and sat back, frowning.

Sasuke had been acting different the entire time he'd seen him in that barn. He didn't look nearly as vengeful and angry as he had the night he defected. Was it because of this person? Sasuke had acted really weird around him, like the slightest error would damage him. He wasn't sure what was going on, but maybe... maybe he could have his brother back.

There was barely a sound, but Naruto looked up just as Sasuke landed a few feet from the camp, toting bags of some sort. Probably their possessions, because nothing else made sense. The civilian didn't have anything on him, after all. The former Konoha Shinobi swiftly made his way to his companion's side and knelt beside him, setting down his baggage. Without acknowledging either shinobi, the Uchiha opened the smaller bag and rummaged through it, fishing out a gray stone the size of a marble. He then stuck it in the civilian's mouth, between his teeth and cheek. Apparently whatever it was was not supposed to be swallowed.

Immediately after Sasuke withdrew his fingers, the unconscious form's colour improved. He no longer looked deathly pale and his breathing also seemed to ease up. The Uchiha breathed a sigh of relief and Naruto was once again treated to the sight of the foreign, gentle Sasuke, as the shinobi brushed the civilian's hair out of his face and gripped a limp hand in his own.

Now, Naruto had never been that observant, but even he could spot what was going on. Sasuke had always been pretty unemotional, but Naruto knew his tells. And his tells right now...

“You love him, don't you?” the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki asked softly, eyes firmly on the joined hands.

Sasuke stilled, but relaxed just as quickly. He didn't say anything, but the small smile on his face told Naruto everything he needed to know. The raven then looked at Naruto, an unreadable expression in place. He almost looked... confused.

“Your clothes... are different...”

The blond looked down at himself, before looking up, somewhat affronted “Uh, yeah! It's been two years, teme!”

The other teen frowned but shook his head, his eyes landing on the Sannin sitting quietly on the outskirts of their camp “Who are you?”

This... this was not something either shinobi was expecting. Sasuke couldn't _possibly_ have forgotten meeting Jiraiya, right?

“What are you talking about? You've _met_ Ero-Sennin!”

Sasuke's brows furrowed further, before he flinched and brought a hand up to his temple, rubbing it with an agitated look on his face “Damnit.”

Before either shinobi could react, Sasuke's companion shifted to his side, spitting the marble out. He then sat up with a grimace “Urgh, I hate the chalky after-taste.”

The Uchiha, suddenly looking composed, lifted an eyebrow at the confession, before asking “And why, exactly, are you familiar with it?”

The other raven, whom Naruto noticed had emerald-colored eyes, stared at the Uchiha as if implying he was an idiot, before gesturing to all of himself with his unoccupied hand, eyebrow raised in a pointed manner.

Sasuke did the equivalent of a wince, apparently gathering more from the gesture than either of the Konoha Shinobi ever could “Right. Forgive me for wanting to ignore the fact that you were ordered to be raped for your Kekkei Genkai by your equivalent of the Civilian Council... and also your equivalent of Kage.”

There was an awkward silence at that. Naruto was trying to wrap his head around the “rape” part of that verbal bomb, Jiraiya was wondering what sort of Kekkei Genkai would cause that sort of reaction and Harry and Sasuke were waiting for the backlash.

Harry could see what Sasuke was trying to do, he'd recognized the blond as the Naruto he kept mentioning and whomever this man was seemed very similar. Which meant Sasuke was trying to make them sympathetic to his situation. Very Slytherin. Also very ninja. Harry couldn't really say anything about it without compromising them. He didn't like it.

The wizard quirked a brow before huffing and turning away as if insulted, arms crossed and eyes closed “Oh, I see, big macho man is jealous that his property was marked by someone else.”

As calculated, Sasuke's eyes widened as he panicked, knowing exactly what Harry's opinion on the subject of being controlled was “No! No, Hari I didn't mean it-” the ninja rambled in a very un-Uchiha fashion, leaning forward and extending his arm as if to try and placate his lover when Harry stopped him in his tracks.

With a kiss.

He ignored Naruto's horrified gaping and the old man's hooting as he backed up a breath and brought a finger up to Sasuke's lips “There, was that so hard?”

His significant other blinked, arm still outstretched, before he blinked and sighed, dropping his arm around his shoulders and bringing him closer “Alright, you win.”

Jiraiya watched in amusement and well-contained suspicion as the Uchiha brat interacted with whom Naruto had surprisingly correctly deduced to be the semi Nuke-Nin's lover. Though, maybe his student had just thought the attraction was one-sided, if the gaping was anything to go by.

“What's happening?” the blond asked in a whisper, staring at the two.

The Sannin snorted “That, my student, is a marital dispute. I think your pink lady friend has been firmly eliminated from the competition, if there ever truly was one.”

Naruto paled at the mention of Sakura and hoped he would not be subjected to her wrath when she found out her dear Sasuke-kun was very much taken.


	4. A small talk and a walk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke reveals his... memory problems, let's say.  
> Naruto has a slight crisis.  
> Jiraiya takes notes.  
> And Harry despairs over the fact that Sasuke isn't going to let him out of his sight for the foreseeable future.  
> All on the way to Konoha.

Soon enough after the couple had settled their little dispute, the Spy Master got to the heart of the issue concerning the Uchiha's behavior the entire time he'd been in the camp.

Of course, his student beat him to it.

“Oi, teme, don't think you can get out of answering me!” the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki suddenly snapped, having gotten over the strangeness of seeing his former teammate acting strangely.

The Uchiha's shoulders slumped and the Toad Sage could see the pained look that he failed to hide as he sighed “My memories are a little... iffy. I have trouble recalling things from before the seal and... the things that came after are almost impossible to recall.” Sasuke sighed again and pinched his nose in agitation, screwing his eyes shut “I can't remember which eye Kakashi-sensei has uncovered, I can't remember what length Sakura's hair is, I can't remember what your smile looks like and can't remember a _single fucking classmate I had in the Academy._ ” the teen ground out as he held his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his crossed legs, looking both tense and defeated “All I know is that everything went to shit after the Second Stage of the Chuunin Exams.” he let out a self-depricating laugh “I remember a _fucking cat_ better than I remember my own _room_.”

The Uchiha's companion frowned and put his hand on the shinobi's shoulder “Sasuke... you were 13 years old with absolutely no mental shields... what were you supposed to do?”

The Uchiha didn't acknowledge the statement but didn't fight when the other pulled him into a comforting embrace. In fact, he seemed to relax into his partner's hold, as if this was a normal occurrence. From what Jiraiya could speculate, it probably was. If the Uchiha's mind was so fragmented, coupled with that pride his Clan was known for, this had most likely happened many times, probably in a much more explosive way at the beginning.

Of course, they'd still need a Yamanaka to verify this, but if the seal was to blame for the boy's actions, well... you couldn't really blame a brainwashing victim, could you?

Perhaps his student wasn't destined for the same heartbreak he and Tsunade had experienced.

They stayed until the morning, which was when they would pack up and head for Konoha. All the while, Jiraiya observed the couple. The affection was obvious to see, even if it was very subtle. Well, at least with the Uchiha brat, the other one was more open with his affections. And worry. The Toad Sage could clearly see the worry the kid felt towards his significant other.

He also noted how the civilian made a visible effort to interact with Naruto and he wondered what the sort-of Nuke-nin had remembered and told the other about his student. Because he himself was being ignored while Naruto wasn't quite sure what to do about the sudden attention he was receiving. 

More often than not the Uchiha carried his civilian, not that Jiraiya ever called the youth that, so that they could move faster. Or just due to the fact that, while admirable for a civilian, the boy's stamina was nowhere near the levels of a well-trained ninja. The lovey-dovey mush the two kept engaging in would probably have been more disgusting if the man wasn't taking notes so that he could use it in his next book. Naruto was torn on how to feel about it, mostly because he had never thought about looking at guys like that. Because if _he_ started looking at guys like that, then he'd probably start trying to ask out Shikamaru.

Now there was a thought... Shika would probably not try to hit him if he tried asking him out, he'd find it too troublesome. The Nara would probably just try to hide from him as a refusal. 

What was he thinking about, again?

Once Konoha's gates came into view, the Uchiha paused, before drawing his hood over his head, looking uncomfortable. His companion frowned at the gesture while the other two ninja didn't react to it.

“Sasuke... are you alright?” the green-eyed teen asked, lightly touching the Uchiha's hand.

Said ravenette shook his head “I don't know...”

Jiraiya spoke up “Probably better that you don't show your face until we're at the Tower. You caused a lot of ruckus when you left.”

Sasuke nodded and took Hari's hand as they approached the gates. The civilian said nothing and just let the Uchiha take comfort from him, even tugging the other's hood down further to obstruct his face.

Unkown to the other two shinobi, Harry had cast a faint notice-me-not charm on Sasuke's face so that no one would notice what he looked like, nor think it strange they couldn't see or remember his face. He also cast a calming charm to mask any tenseness that would have maybe alerted someone to the fact that he was suspicious.

He may be a civilian to these ninja, but Harry was a war veteran. He'd learned and learned quickly on the run while searching for those Merlin damned horcruxes. He was miffed he'd gotten captured twice already during his time in this dimension, though the most exasperating thing about the second one was that _he'd just gotten Sasuke to let him go off alone._

It was going to be a _pain_ to get the Uchiha to relax again.


End file.
